Editorial

Knowledge Assortment (Editorial)

By Dr. Vincent Ribière, Guest editor for the special ICICKM 2011 issue.

The Institute for Knowledge and Innovation Southeast Asia (IKI‑SEA) Bangkok University

It is my great pleasure to present to you this special issue of the electronic Journal of Knowledge Management (ejkm) dedicated to the 8th International Conference on Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management & Organisational Learning (ICICKM 2011) that took place in Bangkok on the 27 and 28th of October 2011. Despite the threat of Bangkok getting flooded, 120 participants joined the conference organized by ACI and hosted by Bangkok University. Among the 100 papers presented we selected 8 of them based on the feedback provided by the conference track chairs and based on the originality of the papers.

I decided to name this editorial Knowledge Assortment, since it really reflects the variety of the papers selected for this issue in term of their KM/IC fields of application, of the type of KM initiative investigated and in term of the origins of the authors.

The first paper, titled “Knowledge Management Practices and Healthcare Delivery: A Contingency Framework” by Prantik Bordoloi, Nazrul Islam (Thailand), won the best conference PhD paper award. This is a conceptual paper that investigates the application and impact of knowledge management practices in healthcare delivery. A conceptual framework is presented and supported by a case study.

The second paper, titled “Exploring the Role of Boundary Spanning in Distributed Networks of Knowledge” by Eli Hustad and Aurilla Aurelie Bechina (Norway), focuses on one type of network structure, termed a Distributed Network of Knowledge (DNoK). This paper looks at how a DNoK can be cultivated and facilitated, thereby enabling members to share and create knowledge. This research is illustrated by a case study.

The third paper, titled “The Potential of Neuro‑Linguistic Programming in Human Capital Development” by Eric Kong (Australia), reviews the literature and theoretically argues that Neuro‑Linguistic Programming (NLP) has the potential to foster Human Capital in organizations. NLP suggests that subjective experience is encoded in terms of three main representation systems: visual, auditory, and Kinaesthetic and it primarily focuses on individual internal learning and that learning likely leads to the accumulation of HC in organizations.

The fourth paper, titled “How to Characterize Professional Gestures to Operate Tacit Know‑how Transfer?” by Sophie Le Bellu and Benoit Le Blanc (France), presents a very interesting and novel experiment that was conducted to capture professional gestures (the Kinaesthetic dimension presented in the previous paper). Their research investigates the use of digital video and activity elicitation to give a guideline and operational tools for the capture of knowledge embodied in professional gestures

The fifth paper, titled “A Study on the Influence of Intellectual Capital and Intellectual Capital Complementarity on Global Initiatives” by Ya‑Hui Ling (Taiwan), aims to test if IC has a positive impact on a firm’s global innovation and global marketing or not? 324 Taiwanese firms took part of this study and a model was tested.

The sixth paper, titled “A Knowledge Management System for Exchanging and Creating Knowledge in Organic Farming” by Vincent Soulignac, Jean‑Louis Ermine, Jean‑Luc Paris, Olivier Devise and Jean‑Pierre Chanet (France), presents the steps/methods and tools used to develop a KM system to help various types of Organic Farming users/stakeholders. Through the use of various KM tools/methods like MASK (Method for Analyzing and Structuring Knowledge) and the C‑K design theory (Concept – Knowledge (Innovation)) a solution was proposed to develop a KM system. This research is illustrated by a real case study.

The seventh paper, titled “Five grounded Principles for Developing Knowledge Management Systems” by Mark Woodman and Aboubakr Zade (UK), presents a grounded theory study (conducted over a 8‑year research enquiry) of the practice of developing knowledge management systems in organizations. The paper reprised the 5‑phase methodology for developing KMS, the phases being: Sense making the Problematic Situation, Envisioning an Improved Situation, Designing a KMS, Exploring IT Options for the KMS, and Managing the Evolutionary Potential of the KMS.

The last paper, titled “A Qualitative Analysis of Knowledge Transfer in Global Supply Chains: Case of Thai Distributer of Imported Products” by Lugkana Worasinchai (Thailand) and Farhad Daneshgar (Australia), presents a study attempting to develop insights into the nature of the (technical) knowledge involved in transferring knowledge between the donor and recipient firms though a case study (laboratory equipment).

This issue ends with a book review by Dan Remenyi on Tina Stavredes’ book “Effective Online Teaching. Foundations and Strategies for Student Success”

I hope you will enjoy reading this assortment of KM/IC research and I would like to thank Geoff Turner (Editor of ejkm) for giving me the opportunity to be the editor of this special issue.

Abstract

Being a knowledge driven process, healthcare delivery provides opportunity to incorporate knowledge management practices to improve processes. But it has also been noted that knowledge management is systematically more complex in healthcare and minimal research exist to guide academic and organizational stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the application and impact of knowledge management practices in healthcare delivery. The paper is conceptual in its nature and aims to propose a contingency‑based framework to drive further empirical research. The paper is primarily based on a literature review of the healthcare knowledge management and associated information sciences research streams. The fundamental research questions are: ‘‘what and how do the various knowledge management practices affect the performance of healthcare delivery?’’ and ‘‘what are the contingent and contextual factors that needs to be considered when exploring the relationship between knowledge management practices and performance of healthcare delivery?’’ We first discuss facets of performance in healthcare delivery but thereafter focus on the technical and interpersonal care aspects of healthcare delivery. We investigate knowledge management practices in the areas of (i) knowledge acquisition and sharing, (ii) knowledge assimilation and application. In our paper we explore how the different knowledge management practices affect the performance of healthcare delivery through technical and interpersonal care. Thereafter we explore the factors of physician characteristic, ailment characteristics, organizational IT infrastructure and organization processes, on which the conceptual framework will be contingent on. We thereafter evaluate the conceptual framework with a case study. From an academic perspective our paper identifies some key knowledge management practices and explores their linkages with technical and interpersonal care, while from a practical point of view it provides implications for administrators and practitioners in healthcare delivery on the management of contingency factors so that the knowledge management practices can be properly implemented.

Abstract

Knowledge sharing and creation are considered key processes leading to innovation and organizational performance. Several organizational initiatives have focused on building communities of practice in order to create a platform where employees can share experiences and insights. The focus in this paper is on one type of network structure, termed distributed networks of knowledge (DNoK). The success of such practices is deeply linked to whether or not formalization of the networks can hamper their knowledge creation and creativity. The role of leadership has been extensively discussed in the setting of communities of practice. However, this paper intends to shed new light on the topic by exploring the boundary management perspective in order to enable knowledge sharing and creation within this specific context of DNoK. To this end, we have examined the role of leadership styles in different DNoKs in a multinational firm.

Abstract

Human capital (HC) represents the cumulative tacit knowledge that is embedded in the minds of people in organisations. HC is important to organisations because it serves as a source of innovation and strategic renewal. Individuals carry HC when they join an organisation and take their talent, skills and tacit knowledge with them when they leave the organisation. Thus HC is volatile in nature. Organisations are therefore keen to do what they can to foster and develop HC as a means of achieving sustainable competitive advantage. This paper argues that neuro‑linguistic programming (NLP) has the potential of developing and enhancing the stock of HC in organisations. NLP emerged in the 1970s from the University of California, USA. NLP suggests that subjective experience is encoded in terms of three main representation systems: visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic (VAK). NLP practitioners claim that people tend to have one preferred representation system over another in a given context. Despite that previous research has shown that NLP can assist in facilitating knowledge and learning capabilities, very limited research is conducted using NLP in nurturing HC in organisations. This paper critically reviews the literature and theoretically argues that NLP can be used as a practical approach to develop HC in organisations. This is because NLP primarily focuses on individual internal learning and that learning likely leads to the accumulation of HC in organisations. In other words, organisational members may find it more effective to enhance their tacit knowledge, both individually and collectively, if they adopt the NLP approach in their day‑to‑day work. Examples on how NLP may be used to develop HC in organisations will be provided. Future research direction and limitations will also be discussed.

Abstract

Operational knowledge in industries is difficult to capture because of the tacit nature of gestures. Our experiments showed that the operators can be equipped with video capture devices. Professional workers can also be invited to describe the intentions of their gesture. But the bottleneck is in the gesture itself. This paper describes an experiment, which was performed at EDF (Electricité de France), the French leader energy producer company. Several categories of professional gestures were studied and were investigated to produce training video material called “MAP” (Multimedia Apprenticeship Platform). The capture protocol aims to collect operators’ intentions, their mental models. An anthropocentric three‑step methodology was applied. For all the gestures, six descriptors were used to qualify the environment and the capture situation: (A) the realism of the situation, (B) the length of the gesture, (C) the shooting area size, (D) thought and decision‑making of the operator, (E) the operator’s ability to gaze available information and (F) the operator’s ability to search for information in the environment. A three‑value scale is used for each descriptor to quantify the criticism of the gestures. Results include the perimeter of application of the MAP methodology, describing professional gestures which can be captured, formalized and transmitted. The majority of the descriptors have a moderated influence on the process, concentrating their impact on one point of the method. Two parts of the professional gesture have high‑level impact on the whole process: (1) the visual component of the gesture to use available information or to search pertinent information in the environment, and (2) the time devoted to interaction between operators or to think and make decision during the realization of the professional gesture.

Abstract

: A main purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of intellectual capital and intellectual capital complementarity on a firm’s global initiatives. Sample was selected with a type of purposive sampling. The selection criteria were that companies had to locate in Taiwan, but competing globally. Altogether 324 firms took part in the study. Structural Equation Modelling technique was used in the data analysis. Based on the analyses results, some implications are provided. Firstly, the importance of intellectual capital is again highlighted. It is confirmed that intellectual capital does enhance a firm’s global initiatives. Secondly, some moderating effects of business environment are found between intellectual capital and global initiatives. Thirdly, the important role of intellectual capital complementarity is identified. It is found that intellectual capital complementarity has positive effect on global initiatives in both high dynamic and low dynamic contexts. As a result, the value of intellectual capital components can mostly be actualized only in terms of their dynamic interrelationships and conjoint interaction.

Abstract

: Agriculture must evolve into a more environmentally‑friendly approach while remaining economically workable. This type of agriculture is said to be sustainable. It has a systemic logic and therefore requires a strong knowledge base. In this study we propose a knowledge management IT‑based system. In the first part of our article, we discuss the potential actors of the system and their possible implications. The second part deals with the knowledge selection and formalization. The third part describes the main computing features of the knowledge server we propose.

Abstract

The practice of developing knowledge management systems in organizations is hindered by a lack of research into (a) what is a knowledge management system, (b) how to develop a knowledge management system in practice, and (c) what role (if any) information technology should play in supporting a knowledge management system. Hence the use of ad hoc, proprietary approaches by practitioners. This paper addresses this gap in research and in practice by presenting five principles from a set of 12 that that emerged through a grounded theory study of the practice of developing knowledge management systems in organizations. The paper focuses on how each of the principles (i) emerged from, and was validated in, evidence collected from developing knowledge management systems, (ii) is connected to related work in the literature, and (iii) informs the practice of developing knowledge management systems. The principles have fundamental implications for the practice and research of developing knowledge management systems in an organizational context. In practice, the principles offer practitioners useful insights into developing knowledge management systems in a way that delivers value to organizations. In research, the principles address several problematic aspects of the literature, particularly concerning divergence, fragmentation and inconsistencies in definitions for knowledge management systems, the purpose for developing knowledge management systems and the role of IT in supporting knowledge management systems. Furthermore, the paper helps distinguish between information systems, which are often used in knowledge management and knowledge management systems whose characteristics, according to the principles presented are very different.

Abstract

This paper is the final phase of a larger research project that investigates knowledge transfer in global supply chains from the perspective of South East Asian reseller companies. In a previous study a theoretical model for knowledge transfer in global supply chains was developed and quantitatively validated for the case of Thai resellers of laboratory equipment where equipment resale companies (donors) provide training to their customers (recipients). Results from that previous study indicated that the transfer capability was the most important issue for the donor firms. Furthermore, the most critical factor for the recipient firms was their absorptive capacity in the form of certain capabilities for the successful utilization of the technical knowledge received from the donor firms. By adopting a qualitative sense‑making research approach and a two‑round focus group interview method for data collection and analysis the current study attempts to provide further deeper explanations for the results of previous quantitative survey. Five participants were chosen for two‑round of focus group meetings for this purpose.